Embrace our history — it’s all we’ve got
There is a reason our national sport is governed by the Football Association and not the english Football Association. It is the same reason golfers will contest The Open at Carnoustie this summer and not, strictly, the British Open. When The Open began, like the Football Association, it was one of a kind. The FA were founded on October 26, 1863. It took another 10 years for the Scottish Football Association to form, and there was no football federation outside Britain and Ireland until Denmark launched theirs in 1889. Outside europe, Argentina led the way in 1893. So the name of the organisation isn’t born of arrogance but historical circumstance. For the same reason, nobody in the United States refers to the US Masters. It is the Masters. It was contested in 1934. The British Masters, its equivalent and an inferior competition, came 12 years later. It is ironic in the extreme, then, that the modern FA have managed to ingratiate itself with those old crooks at FIFA by introducing themselves as representing ‘the english FA’. This is even cited as a key factor in the renewed hopes of winning the right to host the 2030 World Cup. By denying english football’s place in history, by pretending the name of the organisation was rooted in ego, the FA have won favour with FIFA’s panjandrums, probably the most arrogant and entitled body in the world. As a result, england will now bid to host the centenary World Cup, despite having wanted no part of the inaugural edition in 1930. They will take on Uruguay, the first hosts, who are teaming up with Argentina and Paraguay in an emotionally appealing bid. So what claim does england really have? Only that this is where the modern, codified game was founded: the very history the FA are forced to shun to get a foot in the door. how shallow and self-important must FIFA’s kingmakers be to indulge this pretence?